How secure are local elections?
If you have ever visited the Washington County Board of Elections on Davis Avenue in Marietta, you may have met one of the staff members and volunteers who work diligently to assist citizens with voting and registration. Additionally, these local community members, perhaps your friends and neighbors, explain the voting process, test the security of the machines and conduct election audits.
The election process can seem confusing when we only show up to vote once or twice a year, but our Board of Elections (BOE) staff work hard year-round to keep our elections safe and secure. I’d like to illuminate some of the processes, so our community understands how our elections work.
Before elections even begin, our voting machines and tabulators, which are never connected to the internet, go through a series of bipartisan testing for accuracy and security. The voting equipment is secured in locked locations with tamper-proof seals that can only be accessed by both a Republican and Democratic election official present. During this time, our local BOE completes rigorous security upgrades for both cyber-security and physical security.
Poll workers, who must work in bipartisan groups, are trained about Ohio’s voting rules and procedures. As a poll worker, you receive in-person training by staff workers, on-line computer training with the Secretary of State’s office and a training booklet. Poll workers are very prepared to help voters cast their ballot freely and fairly.
As election season rolls around, the BOE staff educates voters about voting rules and procedures to minimize ballots that could be rejected due to voter error.
The outside ballot drop box is monitored electronically and checked regularly by a pair of bipartisan election workers. In fact, the handling of ballots or voting equipment is always completed by a bipartisan team of election officials.
On Election Day, all precincts are staffed by bipartisan teams of trained poll workers. Even though precincts have voting machines, voters may request a paper ballot at any polling location. Voters have asked why polling places have been changed so many times in the past few years. Due to several special elections, a
polling place may be moved to provide handicapped accessibility, seasonal need for air conditioning or heat, or response to natural disasters. The BOE sends out postcards to each registered voter when their polling location changes.
Voters may also ask for curbside voting if they are not able to go into the polling place. The number to call for assistance will be on the curbside voting sign. A bipartisan team will meet you at your car, check you into the system, confirm the record is correct, and provide the voter with a paper ballot. Once complete, the bipartisan team will put the ballot in a ballot sleeve so it is not showing, and then put the ballot in the scanner. They will even bring you an “I Voted” sticker.
The BOE staff continually reconciles voting lists to ensure no votes were counted twice, and every Ohio ballot is also recorded in hard-copy on paper.
Days following, the county conducts post-election audits — which are open to the public — to ensure the accuracy of the count. If a close election requires a recount, it is counted by hand with representatives of both parties.
Know that our elections are secure thanks to Ohio’s regulations and the hard work of our BOE staff and volunteers. Every vote is important and every vote counts, so make sure you have a plan to vote in this election. Our democracy cannot exist without “We the people” voting and supporting free and fair elections.
Betsy Cook is a member of Living Democracy: Engaging Citizens, a local citizen group. Our mission is to inform and educate the Mid-Ohio Valley about how government works on the local, state and federal levels and how citizens can be involved to make our democracy work.
Join us the third Wed. of each month. livingdemocracymov@gmail.com and facebook/speak foryourselfvote and Youtube channel Living Democracy.